Out of Your Head!

Out of Your Head! (OOYH!) is my monthly themed poetry night based at The Cumberland Arms.

Every month, there are featured writers paid to perform, alongside a winner and two runners-up from the call-out.

The final hour of every OOYH! event is dedicated to a non-competitive open mic.

Find the social media and ticket links for OOYH! here.

Amy, wearing a green suit, in front of a rainbow mural.

Case Studies

Lizzie Lovejoy

“Out of Your Head! has been an incredible experience for me for a variety of reasons. The most visible one is career progression; I entered an OOHY! competition and was fortunate enough to be awarded a paid set. This chance to perform my work to a pretty significant crowd really gave me alot of confidence and encouraged my writing. When I was invited back as a featured artist months later I was thrilled and could really tell how my own writing and performance had progressed.
Another reason is that I struggle with groups and conversations. I am an immunocompromised person and after the past few years we’ve had, it’s been really scary to get back out there. But OOYH! has created a space for community and conversation, I was able to engage with people I would not have otherwise had the ability to approach and I learned so much about their lives, their poetry and performance styles. It has been not only an educational space for me but a community driven one. The final reason was that it gave me a shared space to be with my parents and other generations. Although I wouldn’t describe it as a family event, it has been an event that helps my family to connect and be creative.”

Lewis Brown

“I’ve been going to Out of Your Head! since I started performing poetry in Newcastle, and in the time I’ve really come to view it as my home night. Amy has cultivated a warm, welcoming and inclusive atmosphere which has allowed an amazing community of poets and other creatives to grow up around the monthly open mic night. Space for performers to practice, try out new material, find inspiration and grow in confidence is vital to the health of any artistic scene, and Out of Your Head! has certainly been that for me, and many others! I can’t think of a better night for experimenting as a performer, or a more welcoming night for queer and neurodiverse performers.

Amy is committed to providing opportunities for new performers to find their voice and, for many, their first paid set in front of a real crowd. They take an equitable approach to booking headline acts that gives everyone a fair chance and always results in a stellar lineup packed with talent and underrepresented voices. Whenever you are on your poetic journey (be it as a writer or just somebody looking for some live entertainment that’s a little bit different), I would recommend coming along to Out of Your Head!”

Cooper Robson

“OOYH! is a special night to me. It almost feels like an informal ‘Poet School’; homework in the form of a call out theme, an A* could very easily land you a paid set. Grades don’t matter though, each and every one of the artists find growth through performance and the challenge of a topic, the momentum at each event is visible and inspiring, and just like school, whoever I end up sitting next to very quickly becomes my friend. It’s warm and welcoming.

The division between audience and performer melts as OOYH! feels to me a budding community. The energy of which is more open than a pair of swingers and more vulnerable than Achilles wearing Adidas sliders. I love it. On a personal level I feel blessed by what OOYH! has given me. Confidence to call myself a poet (well… Gobshite), my first ever paid set, radio exposure and god knows what else, my past present and future (thematic pun intended) are interwoven with OOYH!“

Testimonials

“Out Of Your Head! has changed my life. I can’t believe how lovely and encouraging everybody is, it makes performing my stupid comedy poems about stick insects and potatoes so comfortable and fun.

Amy is an amazing poet, organiser, host, cultivator and person and I genuinely owe a lot to them.”

Ben Douglass

““The poets of OOYH are incredible. You’ll shout with laughter one moment, and then the audience will be struck sombre another.

What I didn’t expect was to be so inspired that I started writing poetry myself, and there was no better place to start performing than OOYH! It’s such a welcoming, friendly crowd, and really is the best creative scene in Newcastle right now.”

Emily MacKellar

“Ever since moving to NCL, I was in search of a space that promotes inclusivity and nurtures creativity. OOYH! is exactly that.

It’s a wholesome night packed with people from all walks who are free to express themselves. I enjoy it immensely and it’s as wholesome as an environment can get. “

Ali Abbas

Gallery

Below is the gallery of photos from OOYH! All photos are taken by Thomas Robson and Dale Phelan. Click the arrows to navigate through the photos.

Media Reviews

Here is an article review in Narc Magazine about Out of Your Head!

Here is the article, including a video with interviews by myself and OOYH! regulars, in Spark Sunderland about Out of Your Head!

Let’s Talk!

Follow Me!
illustration of an old spin dial telephone